Sweet Desserts
by Ivystrike
Summary: With just one simple mistake, Harry's whole life comes crashing down as his friends and family abandon him and he is left alone because of something he didn't do. With the wizarding world as prejudiced and ignorant as it is, how will he ever get his life back, or will he lose his humanity while trying to find it? An Azkaban story and so much more. NO SLASH. M for violence. 5th year
1. Betrayals and Conviction

I was once an innocent boy.

I was once just a naive child treading the waters.

But then they came and dragged me down as wave after wave came crashing down on me.

I was once golden. But they came and colored me black.

I once smiled and laughed freely. But those muscles have forgotten that motion by now, and my ears don't remember that musical sound anymore. Instead, I can easily twist my face into a cold sneer, and my ears are filled with insane cackles and tortured screams.

Like any other child, I had a few cracks. But they came and fixed them. I had a family. I had friends.

Oh, how innocent I was back then.

They came and shattered that carefree life, abolished those happy memories, and ripped off the bandages that they had put on in the first place. They demolished my spirit. They completely and utterly destroyed me.

My whole life had been a lie. I thought that was the end. I would rot away in some dank cell, forever tortured by those looks of hatred and disgust in their faces until the day I died.

I thought I was just a lost soul, waiting for death to find me. I thought I was broken beyond repair.

But my thoughts of despair turned to revenge. It had started with a single tendril, but that tendril grasped hold of my other thoughts until I was consumed by it, conquered by it.

I stayed that way for a long time, until the day _I_ conquered _it_. That was day everything changed. That was the day i became _Hell_.

The end of the world is coming. You will know it when you see. Many think it will be the glowing Dark Mark hovering above Hogwarts. But they are wrong.

The end of the world will be reflected in my jaded eyes.

I am Harry Potter, and this is my story.

O•O•O

"Harry, my boy, how could you?" These were the first words Harry heard when he awoke from his sleep.

"What?" he asked groggily, his mind still transitioning from his dreams to the real world. For once he remembered his vivid dreams.

He'd been having these dreams for almost a month now, but when he woke up, they would always be just out of reach as if teasing him. Nevertheless, he knew there was something important about the dreams. He'd always wake up with a sense of urgency but no account of what brought it on. This had frustrated him so much so he couldn't possibly be blamed for ignoring Dumbledore in favor of exploring his dream.

In his dream there had been a room full of bright white light.

 _Harry blinked open his eyes and_ _immediately snapped them shut to escape the blinding light attacking his vision. Disoriented, he had stumbled around for a while, unable to see. Suddenly, there a noise, a purr to be exact, sounding from behind him. Panicking, he opened his eyes to try to locate the source of the noise._

 _"Aaaaargh!" he cried out as the light assaulted him once more. "Who's there," he asked and after receiving another purr in return he said, "I'm not afraid to fight you!"_

 _Harry dug for his wand but came up with nothing. His breath was coming in gasps now. This creature had stolen his wand! He was defenseless, Harry realized._

 _Sirius. Hermione. Ron. Mrs. Weasley. Dumbledore. Remus. He couldn't leave them behind._

 _Bending his knees into a fighting stance Harry raised his fists. He wasn't going down without a fight._

 _"Child, open your eyes."_

 _The voice was mesmerizing, and Harry was compelled to obey. The Imperius curse, fight it Harry, fight it. Whoever this was, they were dark. They were evil. Was this a plot of Voldemort's?_

 _The person chuckled sadly. "Oh child, look at what they have done to you. Open your eyes."_

 _Squeezing his eyes shut, Harry fought against the command. The person wanted to render him blind and disoriented so he would be easier prey. Well he wouldn't do it. He would fight. He would-_

 _"OPEN YOUR EYES." The voice was hypnotizing and powerful. It was enticing. It was light and dark at the same time, and Harry had no choice but to obey the voice, all thoughts of fighting had left him._

 _As he was cracking his eyes open, Harry suddenly realized what he was doing. Helpless to control his own action, Harry stood there, waiting of the_ _inevitable._

 _Time seemed to slow down as he thought for what creative awaited him. Was it Voldemort? Had sent summoned some kind of demon from Hell? It had to be something dark, for to control someone else's will or action was dark right? It had to be-_

 _His mother? The first thing Harry registered was a beautiful women with flaming red and hair and sparkling green eyes. The same eyes he looked into every morning. The same eyes he saw staring back at him when he looked into the Mirror and Erised._

 _"Mum?" he choked out, ignoring the lump the size of Britain lodged in his throat. "Mum? What are you doing here?"_

 _His mother smiled sadly at him. "Oh Harry, look at what they've to you." Her emerald eyes were filled with sorrow and regret._

 _"Mum? What are you talking about? Whose done what to me? I'm fine. I mean as fine as I can be with a mad man after me."_

 _Again his mother smiled. "Yes, Albus Dumbledore is quite the mad man."_

 _Harry choked. "What!? Dumbledore? I'm talking about Voldemort. Mum, what's wrong? You know, Voldemort. The man who killed you."_

 _His mum just continued to smile sadly at him._

 _The edges of his visit started to fade and it was only then that Harry remembered where he was. "Mum! Don't leave! Please Mum, please stay. Please, I miss you." Harry hated how his voice had cracked at the end. He was a fighter. He couldn't cry._

 _His mum just smiled that haunting smile of hers. "Oh Harry, why can't you see what they've done to you."_

Harry jerked back into reality and found himself staring into the face of Albus Dumbledore. Against his will, the words of his mother came floating back to the front of his mind.

 _Yes, Albus Dumbledore is quite the mad man._

Disoriented, Harry shook his head. Unfortunately, Dumbledore had apparently asked him a question and took his shake of a head as a negative response.

"I see." said the Headmaster, his tone turning cold and his eye losing their constant twinkle. "I'm afraid then that you will have to be arrested for murder."

Harry's eyes widened. _What?_

"I'm sorry sir, I wasn't quite listening and so, I did not hear the question. You must've taken my shake of the head as a response to your question, but I was actually trying to dispel some thoughts in my head." Harry hurriedly trie to explain. Azkaban? Did Dumbledore just try to send hi to Azkaban? What was going on?

"Harry Potter do not try to lie your way out of this. I have fed you with Veritaserum. The truth has been revealed. Aurora, seize him." Dumbledore thundered down at Harry, and for once Harry was truly frightened of the Headmaster. He could see why Dumbledore was the leader of the light. He truly was powerful enough to rival Voldemort.

Turning back to Harry, Dumbledore spoke, "I was afraid that you would become too much like Tom Riddle. It appears that my fears have come true. Really, how could you kill your own family Harry."

Widening his eyes Harry froze. How could they suspect him of killing his family? Sure they didn't get along but…

Suddenly there was a commotion outside the door and Ron and Hermione came storming in. Harry breathed a sigh of relief. They would defend him. They knew that he would never-

"How could you, you- you SLIMY SNAKE!"

"We trusted you"

"You're no better than Voldemort."

"You've probably already joined with that bastard."

"Yeah, probably killed Cedric yourself too."

Harry watched, stunned, with tears slipping freely down his cheeks as his best friends turned on him. How could they believe he had actually killed someone? Didn't they know him?

Thinking back to the fights with Ron and Hermione, Harry concluded that Ron was still blinded by his thoughts of fame and prejudices, and Hermione still blinded by her belief in authority. Still though, didn't they know him at all?

Harry was so caught up in his thoughts that he didn't even notice was being shoved down the steps and into the Entrance Hall. People stopped and stared, whispering to their neighbors. Harry managed to catch quite a few of their conversations.

"Heard about what he did."

"How could he be so merciless."

"He's a monster."

 _A monster. A monster. A monster._

 _Monster._ The words echoed around in Harry's head. I'm not a monster. I didn't do it, he wanted to shout but couldn't under the Silencing spell Hermione had put him under.

"STOP!" a voice shouted clearly towards them.

Recognizing the voice, Harry was consumed with anxiety and anticipation.

 _Sirius._ What if he too believed the worst in Harry. He quickly quelled that thought. It was Sirius for Merlin's sake! Sirius knew him. He was his godfather.

Grinning, Harry turned around…only to twist his expression into one of complete pain and betrayal the moment he saw his godfather's eyes. They were full of blame and disgust. Of hatred and revulsion. Of the deepest loathing and rage.

O•O•O

Looking into those silver eyes, I broke a little. It was a small crack. But nevertheless, it was one of those small cracks that would spread.

Like a small spiderweb-like crack on glass which would keep on traveling outward until it reached the edges and shattered the whole piece. And like the spiderweb, the crack inside me would spread too until I shattered.

Oh how broken I would be, how utterly _broken_.

But like a spiderweb, there had to be some sort of push, something to keep it spreading. Otherwise, it would just stay that one single mark on the glass. Perhaps it was the wind, or perhaps it was other various cracks that would yearn towards each other.

For me, it was Draco Malfoy and his father, Professor Malfoy.

Oh yes, Lucius Malfoy was the new Defense against the Dark Arts Professor. I remember how Ron flew into a rage about him teaching the innocent children the Dark Arts and training them for his master.

But the main thing that bothered Ron was Draco Malfoy. He snarled and screamed about how Draco Malfoy would be acting oh so superior now. He couldn't wait to punch that ferret into his daddy's arms. How he fumed about Malfoy for weeks on end!

For Hermione, Professor Lucius Malfoy meant something different. After all, he was a professor now, and all professors deserved respect. She was worried about how he would react to her, and whether he would try to block her studies. She didn't once question his placement there. After all, _Dumbledore_ had accepted his placement so therefore, everything was fine right?

She didn't once think that Lucius Malfoy was at Hogwarts to carry out a mission for the Dark Lord. And so Ron and Hermione would contribute to the push that would send me to the gallows, as the Muggles say.

But looking into the silver eyes of Draco Malfoy and Lucius Malfoy that were so similar to the silver eyes of Sirius Black, I started to break.

Three sets of the same eyes that held three different meanings:

One set held only contempt for me. I think you can guess who those eyes belong to.

Another set held a flicker of remorse and indecision. It was just a flicker but for the owner of those eyes, a flicker was everything.

The third though, the third was what really ruined me. Those eyes didn't hold love or friendship or even compassion. They held understanding. As you can tell, it wasn't necessarily those emotions in the eyes that tore into me. No, it was the owner of those eyes.

O•O•O

Harry stared into those eyes in disbelief.

Draco Malfoy.

Draco _Malfoy._

The boy who had tormented him since they were eleven.

He mentally snorted. He and Draco had been rivals since first year, and he had disliked him since the first time Harry had met him when Draco had insulted Hagrid. Speaking of Hagrid-

"Harry, how could yeh?"

Harry froze. Hagrid didn't believe in him? Hagrid? His very first friend? "Hagrid, I did' do whatever you all think I did! I don't even know what you guys are accusing me of! Please... please Hagrid! I'm innocent!"

For a moment Hagrid's face wavered but a sharp look from Mcgonagall chased away all doubts.

"Dumbledore sent fer me, told me all about it an'... Harry how could yeh? Yer mum an' dad, they... how could yeh?" Wiping away tears Hagrid turned and left, and with him, he carried away all Harry's hopes, dreams, beliefs... everything.

O•O•O

Do you see now? Do you see why I turned down the path I did? After every friend and ally I had turned on me, what choice did I have? With all the hate and prejudice already piled on me, someone else would've crumbled under all that pressure.

However, their betrayal was only half the journey. It was like the journey an object makes into a bucket of water. From the fall through the air into the fall through the water and to the bottom of the bucket.

The fall through the air could represent the betrayal of my friends.

Where the object goes from the time it hits the surface of the water depends on the object itself. If it is something like a sponge, it will stay on the surface forever until some other force moves it. On the other hand if it is a coin, it will sink through the water.

Someone else might've wallowed in self-pity for the rest of their life, maybe even committing suicide. Someone else might've given up.

But me... I was a different story. I was the coin that traveled the rest of the way through the water.

The main difference between the sponge and the coin are their densities. The main difference between me and someone else was that push Draco Malfoy gave me.

O•O•O

Harry was in shock.

Hagrid…Hermione…Ron…and most of all…Sirius.

Sirius especially. What a hypocrite, he thought. One would think that after being convicted and framed as an innocent man, he would learn to investigate further than just to take Dumbledore's word on everything. But no, Sirius was just like every other sheep that blindly followed Dumbledore and hung on to his every word.

But Sirius, he was like a father to Harry, and Harry had thought that Sirius viewed him like a son. But the thing was, Sirius was always occupied with something else.

It was always Peter before Harry. When Harry's parents died, Sirius could've taken care of Harry instead of going after Peter. After al those years in Azkaban, it was Peter who motivated Sirius to break out.

And now, it was Dumbledore before Harry. When Dumbledore wanted something, he got it. What Dumbledore believed, everybody else believed.

Would it always be like this? To one day have everyone doubt you and hate you and the next to have everyone love and worship you. And then when you do one single thing wrong to have everyone turn their backs to you again.

Was society really this fickle?

Harry had never looked at it this way before. Now thinking back on his childhood, he could see evidence of this everywhere. When he was younger, some of the teachers took pity on him. They had argued with the other indifferent teachers who had been warned by the Dursleys about Harry. _He wasn't a trouble student_ , they had said. _His cousin was the bully, not him._

The next day, Uncle Vernon had gone to talk to those teachers. He brought along fabricated documents recording Harry stealing small tokens and participating in various vandalisms and graffiti. Of course this wasn't true. It was ridiculous that a six year old could even accomplish half those things. But the teachers had believed Uncle Vernon and Harry was treated with a hard glare every time he passed under their radar.

Dudley was certainly very satisfied with that and took advantage of the teachers' blind eye when it came to Harry being bullied. Every day Harry would go out during recess and get pulled into the corner of the yard before he had even take one step out. He had tried to leave before anyone else and seek shelter in the library but the teachers insisted on keeping him after class to "speak with him" on these occasions.

He knew what they were really doing though. They were helping bully Harry. They _were_ bullying him. There was no possible way to deny it. Especially not after one of the worse sessions with Dudley.

Harry had taken various beatings but that day, he had been especially sore. But that wasn't what had made that day special. No, what made it special was the teacher who had looked Harry in the eye right as Dudley was throwing a vicious punch, and after Harry had fallen to the ground, the teacher had looked at Dudley and _smiled_ at him.

That was the same teacher who had complained the most about Harry's poor appearance compared to his cousin's pristine clothes in the beginning of the year. But one conversation from Uncle Vernon and he had twisted around his whole perspective without even hearing Harry out on a single word.

 _What a fucked up world._

And now the light side was unreasonably condemning him to prison while the dark was sympathizing with him. What was going on?

O•O•O

Harry woke up with a gasp, sweat drenching ever part of his body.

"Hello Potter." the cold voice jerked his head up. When his eyes met those icy blue ones of Ronald Weasley and the brown irises of Hermione Granger, he couldn't stop himself from widening his eyes.

"Hermione, Ron, you've come to help me. I knew you would believe. How could I ever doubt you?" Harry said immediately.

He was overjoyed. His two best friends were here. They were here to prove him innocent because they believed in him. Of course they believed in him. That's what best mates were for right? And to think of Hermione and Ron ever turning their backs on him after everything they had gone through. Quirrel, the Chamber of Secrets, Dementors, Peter Pettigrew, the Triwizard Tournament, and finally Cedric. They were best mates. They were inseparable. They were-

"-done with you!" Ron spat at him, pulling him out of his thoughts.

Staring at the pair above him with a gaping mouth Harry responded with the only response he had. "What?"

"How could you Harry? We believed in you. We trusted you." That was Hermione.

"No Hermione, it's still me, the same Harry you've always known. You can still trust me." Harry insisted desperately. What was happening? Why weren't they supporting him? Why weren't automatically jumping to his defense, apologizing for their shock and lack of action earlier?

Harry didn't mean to sound like a brat but these were his best mates. _His best mates._ They were supposed to be there for him, always, not turn their backs on him at the sound of another's order.

Harry peered at Ron and Hermione and the bars behind them. Wait, _bars_? For the first time since he had woken up Harry examined his surroundings. From what he could seen in the dim lighting, it looked like he was in a cell. A _cell_ fully equipped with iron chains and a nonexistent bed or toilet.

He snapped his attention back to his _former_ best mates. "Where am I?" he demanded.

Ron sneered at him. "The Ministry holding cell of course, where criminals like you belong right before their trial. Personally I think we should just skip the trial and throw you into Azkaban. This trial is just a waste of time."

"Ron, don't think like that. The trial will bring us publicity and money. Things we never got when we stuck by him all the time. He got all the fame and spotlight, and our parents had to spend more money, mending all the clothes we ruined on our trips. But with the trial we can get all of his possessions and vaults. We'll finally be recognized for the hard years we've spent trying to stabilize and murderer." Hermione said in a light voice as if she wasn't just confessing to going after Harry's personal possessions.

"Blimey, you're right Hermione! We'll probably even be on the front page of the Daily Prophet! I can see it now. 'Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, Heroes Who Saved Us From a Ultimate Death.' Ahh. I can't wait."

Hermione snorted. "At least now that horrible Skeeter woman will be put to good use. I know for a fact that she has nothing but vulgar things to say about you Harry. So don't count on anyone's support."

And with that they swept away into the empty corridor.

"Wait! No! I didn't do it. Please just let me explain!" Harry cried out desperately after them, his best mates, his last hope.

For a moment Harry numbly stared at the matching set of flowing robes on Ron and Hermione. They've probably already started to get that money, he thought. As the tail end of the robes disappeared around the corner, the dam broke and Harry's tears fell freely from his eyes.

Ron. Hermione. How could they. He trusted them. If their roles were reversed he would've had their backs immediately, no questions asked, no pleas made. Because he believed in them. Because he always thought that their friendship was the only thing holding him up. And now that was gone.

O•O•O

"Get up Potter." the bark from one of the guards was what Harry woke up to.

He knew what day this was. The day of his trail. Suddenly his heart jumped quicker. The day of his trial! He would request Veritaserum and prove his innocence. Things would go back to normal and… no, that was wrong. things would never go back to normal. There would always be a gap between him and Ron ad hermione now. He couldn't easily forget the hatred in their eyes nor the cold tones and words they threw at him when what he needed most was a lifeline.

"Potter, you have guests." Harry jerked up. Guests? He hoped it wasn't Ron and Hermione again, coming to gloat abut their upcoming fame or something. Harry rolled his eyes. over the past few days leading up to his trial all the Weasleys, Sirius, Remus, and a few of his classmates had been there to accuse him or insult him.

Who would it be this time? Lavender? Dean? Seamus? Susan Bones?

 _Draco Malfoy?_ His mind screamed when Harry first saw the shock of platinum blond hair followed by the custom silver eyes of most purebloods.

"Potter." Malfoy simply said then lingered by the door watching Harry.

Oh bloody hell, might as well go along with this. It wasn't as if he had anything to lose.

"Malfoy, how have you been?" he replied.

"Better then you." Malfoy looked at his clothes in disgust then wrinkled his nose as if he'd smelled something rancid, which was probably true as Harry hadn't taken a bath or shower since the day he was arrested which was about a week ago.

"It comes with living in a cell for a week. Guaranteed a filthy appearance and smell."

"Whatever Potter. I just came to tell you that…they're all idiots." He shuffled his feet, looking as un-Malfoy as can be.

At Harry's questioning look, he elaborated.

"The people who are just tossing you aside for the sake of having drama. Everybody at school who believes this rubbish. That bucktoothed Granger and that disgusting Weasel who should've known you enough to know that you have a bleeding heart and would've never killed those people.

Harry stared at Malfoy in shock. He couldn't speak. He couldn't move. He just stared.

"Anyway that's all I came here to say. The odds are piled high against you. With the way things are looking, you're living the rest of your days out in a cell even if you've never lifted a single harmful finger."

And with that said, Malfoy practically ran out of there. In any other situation, it would've been funny, a Malfoy all flushed and embarrassed and actually running. But this was't any other situation, and Malfoy being here and supporting Harry proved that.

Harry sighed. What was it with Malfoy? First that expression on his face when Harry was being confronted by the entire school, and now…this, whatever _this_ was.

Why? Why was it that only Malfoy saw the truth? Even when his best mates couldn't even see? Harry knew the answer to that one. His supposed best mates who too blinded by fame and wealth to care about him He wondered if they ever cared about him or if they just hung around, hoping to gleam some publicity from being the Boy Who Lived's friend.

Suddenly Harry heard the key turn in the lock. He stood. It was time.

O•O•O

"Harry James Potter, you have been accused of the murder of William and Charles Weasley, Henry Granger, and Narcissa Malfoy. Do you deny it?"

Harry was horrified. Bill and Charlie Weasley? Ron's brothers? Hermione's dad? Malfoy's mother? Of course she sided with the dark but he never had any troubles with her, only her son ad husband.

Didn't these people know him at all. Why was it that only Draco believed in him? Especially when Draco had the most reason to turn on him and scream for his blood and his head on a spike. It didn't make any bloody sense.

"Mr. Potter. We are awaiting your answer."

"I deny these claims. They are ridiculous."

"Are you willing to take Veritaserum to prove your answer?"

"Yes." Harry spoke with finality. This was the moment of truth. The moment where finally realized just how wrong they were. And it would be sweet. Victory and freedom are always a sweet combination.

"Very well. Please administer the serum. Only three drops are needed."

Something was shoved under his nose and Harry's head was tipped back. This was it, he thought. This was it. Just as the third drop hit his tongue, the scent of the potion wafted into his nostrils. his last thought was that the potion didn't taste as bad as all the others. It actually tasted pretty sweet.

* * *

 **Please review and tell me if you want this to be a two-shot or an actual story. I hope you enjoyed since this is my first Harry Potter fic.**

 **~ Ivystrike**


	2. Azkaban and Torture

Previously:

"Are you willing to take Veritaserum to prove your answer?"

"Yes." Harry spoke with finality. This was the moment of truth. The moment where finally realized just how wrong they were. And it would be sweet. Victory and freedom are always a sweet combination.

"Very well. Please administer the serum. Only three drops are needed."

Something was shoved under his nose and Harry's head was tipped back. This was it, he thought. This was it. Just as the third drop hit his tongue, the scent of the potion wafted into his nostrils. his last thought was that the potion didn't taste as bad as all the others. It actually tasted pretty sweet.

O•O•O

Instantly Harry felt something tickle in the back of his mind, nudging his thoughts and memories. He brushed this off as a side-effect of Veritaserum. He felt only detached from himself as if viewing himself from a third-person point of view.

"State your name," came the interrogator's words.

"Harry James Potter." He spoke in a monotone voice. It was an odd feeling, as if he wasn't in control of his mind or body. But this was probably the truth serum taking over, forcing the answers from him.

"State your date of birth."

"July 31, 1980."

"Did you kill William and Charles Weasley on June 30, 1995?"

Harry's beat faster. He had been anticipating this sweet moment. It was time everyone got the shock of their lives when they realized they had falsely convicted their precious Golden Boy. Ah, victory would be sweet indeed.

Without any hesitation, he opened his mouth and spoke, "Yes."

Harry's eyes grew wide. _What?_ He hadn't killed anyone much less Charlie! What was happening? This wasn't the truth. Someone had tampered with the potion. That had to be it because there was no way in hell he was a cold-blooded murderer.

"Did you kill Henry Granger and Narcissa Malfoy on the same day?"

"Yes."

Harry had even tried to bite down on his tongue, inspired by Barty Crouch Jr. who had delayed an answer by doing that. To his horror, he realized that he couldn't do that! There had been a force blocking him from doing that, and it then that it dawned on Harry. Someone was controlling him and his answers. He really was helpless now and at the mercy of a hungry society who lusted for some juicy prey which was him.

"Very well," came the hard and disgusted answer of the interrogator, "Administer the antidote and then get him away from me. I don't need scum like that ever even looking at me."

As soon as the antidote touched his tongue and cleared his head, Harry tried to cry out and declare the trial a farce. However, to his horror, he found that he still was not in control of his actions.

Numbly, Harry felt his head dip down as if in defeat and heard the crowd shouting in the background. The voices fused together until only a couple voices stood out. And those voices were very familiar to him.

Still not in control of his actions, the outside force made him swivel his head around and look directly into the eyes of the crowd, particularly those of his family an friends.

 _Great_ _they're all sitting together for me_ , he thought. The Weasley family were at the head with Hermione and Sirius not far behind and then all his friends and acquaintances at Hogwarts and the Order beside them. They were all looking at them with betrayal and hate in their eyes.

Suddenly, Ron and Hermione held up his album of his parents and his broom. Neville and Sirius came up beside them and they raised their wands and simultaneously called out, _Incendio_.

With tears in his eyes, Harry watched as his two most precious items he had were burned before his eyes. He tried to turn away to hide his tears and look away from the daunting sight across from him but the outside force kept him staring at what was now a burning lump.

 _No No No No No No NOOO!_

Why? Why did they do this to him? Didn't they even know him a little? He would never intentionally hurt someone else enough to kill them? Never!

He couldn't stop the river of tears flowing down the tracks on his cheeks. With one last sneer at him, Ron and Hermione twisted on the spot and stalked out the door with the rest of Harry's friends and surrogate family rolling them.

Sirius and the Weasley parents stopped when they brushed past Harry and stood in front of him. With pleading eyes, Harry turned to and tried to say something. Anything. Anything to rid of snarl on his godfather's lips. Anything to soften Mr. Weasley's eyes as he held his wife and stared hard into Harry's eyes.

Then Mrs. Weasley turned to him with her puffy red eyes but still managing to frighten the daylights out of Harry.

She leaned in close and said, "I can't believe we're finally agreeing with the Malfoys but you have forced us to take a side. To be honest, there is only one side. So listen now Potter, stay away from my family, got it? Stay away."

"But-"

"No Potter. Stay away."

"No, you don't understand, I-"

"Oh no I understand alright. I understand perfectly. You come, and you bring destruction. So just STAY AWAY FROM MY FAMILY!"

Then she, with the two men flanking each side, turned and headed to the door. When she reached the handle, she turned back one last time and looked at him with her fiery eyes full of unrelenting anger.

"Stay away and BURN IN HELL!"

And with that, the door slammed shut and the room was considerably emptier.

The force holding Harry in place was still strong, but Harry couldn't bear to stare at that god-forbbiding door any longer. With a push and shove of his mind, he yanked his head away and found himself staring right into the eyes of Lucius Malfoy.

The silver eyes bore into his, holding his gaze. They seemed to look straight into his soul, dissecting all his secrets.

Well you can look, Harry thought. I have nothing that my friends haven't taken from me and thrown out to the world already. I've been picked bare, all my parts revealed and soaked in lies and shown to prejudiced eyes.

Closing his eyes, Harry hid from the accusing eyes, the judging gazes, and worst of all, the cold and indifferent eyes of Albus Dumbledore as he looked at Harry one last time before he turned away, taking with him, Harry's whole world as he knew it.

"Here you go. Take him to maximum security."

Harry was shoved into a dim room with a burly looking security guard in it.

"Really? Maximum security? He's just a kid, man.

Maximum security? Okay, just stay tough and maybe that guard won't bully you too much.

"You're off your trolley! Don't you know who that is?"

Harry felt his bangs lifted up and his scars there, shown off for the security guard to see.

"Blimey, it's Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived!" the security guard exclaimed.

"Yeah well, it's the Boy Who Lived to Murder now."

"You mean he's actually the one who... did that?"

"You got that right."

"Blimey, I thought it was just Fudge being Fudge again."

Harry mentally scoffed. The security guard was probably right. It was probably Fudge being Fudge again. But this time, he had the support of Dumbledore and everyone in the wizarding world. Well… maybe everyone in the wizarding world who supported Dumbledore…which was still a lot of people though.

"No, we've actually got a murderer on our hands."

The security guard looked into Harry's eyes. "But you're supposed to be our savior." he whispered.

Harry closed his eyes and spat on the ground. If his friends expected him to still save them, they would die waiting. Even if they suddenly got the sense knocked back into them and realized he was innocent, well, they could dance in Voldemort's dungeons for all he cared.

"Nobody," Harry whispered to the security guard, "saved your savior," he opened his eyes which gleamed in the darkness, "so why should your savior save you?"

"Man, this is really messed up." the security guard breathed out, still staring wide-eyed at Harry as if he were Merlin incarnated. Actually, now that he thought about it, the security guard probably thought he was the Devil incarnate now.

"I know it is. Tell your men that the boss gave the okay to…let's just say, rough him up."

Nodding shakily the security guard stammered out, "Alright yeah, I'll pass that along."

Stupid guard, probably doesn't know what that means, Harry thought. Even an idiot would realize roughing him up would not actually be "roughing him up." The security guard probably actually thought that was what the phrase meant, he sighed.

"Have fun in Azkaban now. You can go to sleep knowing that you betrayed everyone and if you ever show your face outside of those bars again, the whole wizarding world will be onto you like a pair of rabid dementors."

"Aw come on man, you don't have to be that tough on him."

Harry mentally snorted. How stupid could that security guard get?

"That tough? Carl, he's a murderer."

So the idiot had a name, didn't he. Well, if Harry ever got out, he would give Carl a token for his kindness. Even in the face of four murders, Carl still didn't want to be too 'tough' on him.

"Yeah, but he's still just a kid." That was Carl again.

Harry thought he would let the 'kid' remark slide just for the kindness and entertainment this man provided while Harry was on the cusp of Hell.

"Yes but he murdered four people Carl."

"Well yeah but he's just a kid. I mean, maximum security? He's just a kid…" came Carl's weak reply.

"Well maybe he should thank his lucky stars because being a kid means he won't have as many bad memories for the dementors to prey on."

Harry went rigid. The dementors, they'd slipped his mind. No, he'd tough it out. He could stand listening to his parents' deaths and his almost death over and over again. He was thought. He wouldn't be driven insane because of some silly mistake made by Dumbledore.

"Well, you should stop dilly-dallying and just bring him to that old dump already Carl."

"Right, of course of course. I'll just take him…"

Harry felt himself being roughly passed to Carl. Something was clamped onto his wrist and then the familiar feeling of a Portkey…joy.

When they landed, Harry wasn't given the opportunity to recover, and instead was handed off to a group of men who looked like they were Quiditch stars from the muscles jutting out of their uniforms.

"Well, here he is. Harry Potter, age 15,to be kept in maximum security. Oh, and boss said you were allowed to rough him up a little." said Carl.

In his mind, Harry cursed Carl to Hell and back four times. Well, that man just lost all his brownie points. Why couldn't he have just…i don't know… forgotten about that, Harry was thinking as the four men turned to him with identical glints in all their eyes.

"We'll take him from here Carl." said the biggest one of the four. He turned to the other three and made an offhand remark, "Say you guys, you think those men guarding the west side would want a little break with their savior?"

Merlin help him, Harry prayed.

He must've spoken out loud because the man gripping his wrist turned to him and said, "Merlin can't help ya here, ya filthy murdera."

"Ay," spoke this man's partner, "There's only one place for your kind of people and it's maximum security." he finished with a a cold grin that showed all his teeth.

Harry couldn't take it anymore, "You guys are all idiots if you really think that I committed those murders."

The first man, the biggest one, reared back his arm and slapped Harry right in the face. "Did we say you could speak, prisoner?"

So tis was how it would be, huh? Well Harry wouldn't play their game. He wouldn't submit to them.

"I mean seriously, you all must be pretty dense to believe that scrawny kid like me actually murdered someone." Harry hated insulting himself but it was worth it to see the expressions on the men's faces. And besides, it was true; he was scrawny, and it was no one's fault but Dumbledore's for leaving him with the Dursleys.

Really, he hated Dumbledore right now. How could the man just do that? He had believed in the old man, trusted him completely.

 _Whack._ Another punch to the other side of his head.

"I think ya should start shutting yer pretty little mouth, or Ima gonna shut it fer ya." The second man with the funny accent said, trying and failing to look intimidating.

And Dumbledore had left him to this.

"Man, your just embarrassing yourself. Let's get him to his cell and I'll show you how's really done." spoke the big man with a deadly glint in his eye.

This _Hell._

Harry swallowed. Maybe speaking out wasn't such a great idea after all. Eh, the plan was already in motion.

"With your brains, I wouldn't expect much." Harry off-handedly remarked. "If _I_ had to put my money on who could do the best job, I would put my whole entire fortune on that guy." He said, pointing to a skinny guy in the back of the group.

"Aww, the prisoner's on my side guys. I guess that proves who wins. After all, if Harry Potter says it, then it must be true right?"

Harry swallowed again. It seemed like this guy in particular had a grudge against him.

"Ah here we are. Gentlemen, throw him in already so we can get the party started."

"Gladly."

"I can hardly wait."

"Um, I'll just go on to get the other guys."

"Whatever, just go."

"Take your time though. We want our to have a private party first."

This was all said while the three remaining men started to close in on Harry. Frantically, Harry tried to scramble back only to hit solid rock. He gulped.

"Alright guys, you wouldn't want to hit a kid would you." Harry hated how his voice squeaked at the end.

"Aw guys, did you hear that? His voice actually _squeaked_ at the end."

"Well kid, let me tell you something. I think me and all my guys won't care a single shit about whether you're a kid or not. They're going to enjoy this all the same. Maybe even more than any other prisoner." the big guard said, his breath stinking up Harry's face.

Inwardly, Harry gagged. Sheesh, didn't the guy know the meaning of toothpaste?

"Wow, you guys must be deaf as well as dense. I didn't squeak. Oh and by the way, big man. It's 'I think _I_ and all my guys.' Sheesh didn't your mother ever teach you anything? Including how to brush your teeth?"

With one last deep breath right in Harry's face, the big man swung his fist and flung Harry all the way to the other side of the cell. Harry felt a fire light up in his back as his back slammed into the cold, hard wall.

"That'll teach you to talk to me like that again." And then before Harry could have the chance to reply, the other man with the funny accent kicked him in the groin.

Oh, _Merlin's precious staff!_ It hurt like Hell!

"A-hem." Harry looked up. Great, just great. It was the skinny man who had some sort of grudge against him. Harry closed his eyes, his mind already in lock-down mode. Alright calm down.

He's skinny. He doesn't have any bulging muscles. Or any noticeable muscles really. That's good. His blows won't be as-

 _Crack_. Merlin, that kick was strong, Harry thought, looking at the skinny man warily and in a new light.

"That'll teach you to underestimate me."

 _Crack._ Another kick to his ribs. The skinny man bent down and Harry was lifted by his shirt.

"Let's get this party started." That was the skinny man this time. And then there was pain.

Pain.

Pain.

Pain.

 _Pain._

All his senses could recognize was pain.

The following few hours was a blur of blows to the stomach and kicks to the back to Harry. Sometime later, another four men come to join the beating and then pain blossomed in his chest and white dots crept up in his vision.

Pain.

Pain.

It's funny, people say that it's always darkness creeping up or black dots covering your vision. For Harry though, his vision kept getting light and brighter until he realized that his eyes were closed and all he could see was white.

Pain pain _pain._ Something was happening. They were trying some sick new experiment to make him suffer more.

Oh, Merlin. The pain, it was unbearable. Oh Merlin, it felt like something was ripping him apart. It wasn't a spell since this was Azkaban, and no magic could be performed in Azkaban.

This wasn't regular pain. This was beyond any pain they could inflict with their blows and kicks.

This had happened only before with Uncle Vernon.

 _Flashback:_

 _"You think someone will save you, boy. You're a little freak. That's all you are. Now say it. What are you boy."_

 _Harry stared ahead of him with his mouth shut. He knew how this ended. It was the same whether he said it or not. But maybe this one time it would be different. Maybe his uncle would finally be satisfied with a reply._

 _"Well boy? I'm waiting. We don't want to need that special punishment do we?"_

 _Terrified at the mention of the special punishment, Harry opened his mouth and spoke, "I'm a little freak."_

 _"And who was your mother?"_

 _"My mother was a selfish slut, just another freak." Harry repeated the words spoken to him everyday with tears in his eyes._

 _"And who was your father?"_

 _"My father was a drunk fool, just another freak."_

 _"You're a freak, boy, and you better remember that. Now turn around and strip from the waist down."_

 _And with tears, Harry knew that this day would be no different._

Harry resurfaced from the flashback with shock filling his mind. Those bastards! Those moronic demons! He couldn't believe it! He couldn't believe that those security guards actually had the gall to rape him.

"Are you really so surprised, Harry?"

Harry turned around, and there, just like in his dream, was his mother.

"Mum." Harry felt moisture gathering in his eyes. "Damn, damn it. I promised myself I wouldn't ever cry again."

"Oh Harry, what have they done to you."

And with that, Harry ran to his mother and wrapped his arms around the only figure who remained true to him.

"I promised myself no one would ever touch me again, Mum." Harry whispered in the comforting embrace of his mother. "That was the last time. The last time someone would touch me and the last time I would ever cry because of someone again."

"Harry, my child, my baby boy." Lily murmured gently. "Look at what the world has done to you. This is every mother's nightmare. That her child would be forced to grow up so quickly."

"Are-are you okay with my decisions? You don't hate me?" Harry whispered, scared of the answer.

"Oh, Harry. I will always be with you, my child."

And that broke the dam holding the years of tears back. And Lily Potter held her son as he sobbed uncontrollably in her arms. That was all he ever wanted, someone to love him like that, with no strings attached.

"Mum, where's Dad?" Harry wondered. Seeing as his mother was here, couldn't his father come as well?

For a moment, a shadow passed through Lily's eyes. "Your father…traveling to this plane is difficult Harry. We just didn't want to risk everything from fall apart because we brought to many people. It was risky, me coming here and interacting with you. We didn't want to risk your father disrupting the balance if he came with me."

"What plane? What balance? Aren't we in my mind?" Harry asked, confused.

"It's complex, but I will try to simplify it. The mind has three stages: awake, dormant, and extinct. Awake is when you are aware of the world and awake basically. Dormant is when you are sleeping or unconscious, basically alive but not awake. Extinct is when your mind completely shuts down and you die.

"My mind is extinct but your mind is dormant. There is a fine line between these two stages and you are currently drifting between them. When a mind becomes extinct, it can easily merge with others that are extinct. Because you are so close, I can partially merge with your mind and talk with you.

"Now, we are afraid that if your father comes and tries to merge with you as well, it will drag you into the extinct and you will die."

"Oh," said Harry, still lost for words, "I didn't know that. Why isn't it taught at schools?"

"It was, Harry, until Dippet became headmaster and Dumbledore convinced him to remove some of the curriculum to focus more on the lighter aspects of magic."

Harry sighed. "It all comes down to Dumbledore doesn't it?"

Lily stared at him. "Harry, " she said, gripping his shoulders, "I want you to promise that you will be careful okay?"

Harry snorted. "That's pretty easy when I'll be staying in one place for the rest of my life."

His mother just continued to squeeze his shoulder. "Just promise me Harry. Promise me that you will be careful."

Sighing, Harry decided to indulge his mother. "Yes Mum. I promise I'll be more careful from now on."

His mother smiled down on him and Harry's breath caught. This was his mother, someone who remained true to him, who led him unconditionally. And at the moment, she seemed like an angel who chased away all him demons, who protected him and stayed beside him, always supporting him. She just loved him unconditionally no matter what.

With a lump in his throat, Harry stepped forward and enveloped his mother in one last hug.

For a moment they just stood there, mother and son, but Lily pulled away and said, "I think you should attend to you visitor now Harry. It's rude to leave people waiting."

 _It's rude to leave people waiting._

 _It's rude to leave people-_

"-waiting you know." the familiar drawl came again.

Harry opened his eyes and looked around. Nothing.

"C'mon Scarhead, can you hear me? Are you deaf or something Potty?"

Yeah, identity confirmed.

"Malfoy? What are you doing here?"


	3. Waiting and Planning

"English"

 **"Parseltongue"**

O•O•O

Previously:

"C'mon Scarhead, can you hear me? Are you deaf or something Potty?"

Yeah, identity confirmed.

"Malfoy? What are you doing here?"

O•O•O

"Actually don't answer that yet. Answer this first. Where are you?" Harry muttered into the empty air. "Are you invisible?"

A snort. "No actually Potter. Though that would be the common assumption."

"What the bloody-"

"Language Potter, didn't your guardians tell you the importance of your language in front of someone you are at the mercy of?"

Harry rolled his eyes. Mercy? Please. Arrogant blond ferrets.

"I stand by my original statement. What the bloody hell are you doing here and where the bloody hell are you?"

A sigh. "Why does it have to be so difficult talking to you Potter?"

"Malfoy you bloody wanker, just fucking answer the damn questions!" Harry growled out. Something about Malfoy always got on his nerves every time he talked to the git.

"Alright, alright fine. Have you ever noticed how you swear more when you're talking to me by the way?"

"Malfoy!" The git was right, Harry realized. But was he going to admit it? No fucking way in Hell. Damn, he needed to stop swearing when Malfoy was in his presence. It was so easy though. The git just triggered something in him.

"Well…I suppose I could answer your questions but see, you asked two at once so I am perplexed as to which I should answer first. You know, Potty, it's common etiquette to ask one question at a time and-"

"Malfoy! Cut the crap and answer my questions. You know, ferret, it's common etiquette to ANSWER SOMEONE'S QUESTIONS!" Harry shouted, annoyed at Malfoy's behavior. So he was acting a little impatient, but who could blame him with everything that had happened so far? Harry shuddered at the memory of what happened.

"Yes Potty, but you see-"

Harry cut him off quickly, already sensing another lecture about 'common etiquette' coming from Malfoy's mouth. "Fine, where are you Malfoy?" he asked, internally rolling his eyes at the blond brat.

"I'm at the Manor, of course." he said as if that was the most obvious thing in the world.

"What?!" Harry exclaimed, to shock to even _mentally_ roll his eyes at Malfoy's tone. "How the bloody hell is that possible?" he asked, his tone conveying his incredulousness.

"Language Potter. Didn't your guardians ever-" Malfoy started.

"Just answer my question." Harry got out through clenched jaws.

Somehow, as if sensing that Harry was about to lose it, Malfoy actually answered his question. "I'm using runes," he explained using his holier than thou tone, "I'm actually taking useful classes at Hogwarts unlike that insane fraud who buys cheap tea, wears cheap clothes, lives in the cheapest room in Hogwarts, and always smells like cheap smoke."

"Cheap smoke Malfoy? Don't you think you're carrying it a little too far?"

Malfoy snorted. "Everything about that women is cheap."

"Yeah, according to your 500 galleon tie and maybe your 2000 galleon necklace, Malfoy."

"I do _not_ wear necklaces!" came Malfoy's affronted voice.

"Yeah? Well then what's that thing that you're wearing?" Harry snapped back, having seen Malfoy wearing a chain the few times his shirt had slipped a little. Of course with Malfoy being the perfect posh boy he was, that didn't occur often. He didn't know why he was being so snappish. Though, it probably had something to with him being locked and beaten up and then…he cringed at the memory.

There was a sharp intake of breath after Harry's comment. With the momentary break in the conversation, there was nothing to distract him from the memories anymore.

O•O•O

 _Flashback:_

 _"There's no one to save you now, you filthy traitor. No one wants to save some filthy traitor. I bet you'll die a virgin."_

 _Harry closed his eyes. It's a little too late for that, he thought bitterly. Of course though, he would never admit that out loud, especially not to_ them.

 _"You know, why don't we fix that? This_ hero _will be thanking us later."_

 _It was already too late to fix him._

 _"That's right, why don't you thank us for going through the effort of making sure you won't die a virgin?"_

 _That'll happen with or without them._

 _"Yeah, you won't rot in this cell with your pretty little arse untouched."_

 _I've already been touched. Harry squeezed is eyes shut, wanting to hide from this cruel world._

 _"Of course you'll still rot in this cell. But by the time we're finished with you…"_

 _No Uncle Vernon, please no. I'll be a good little boy. Please no Uncle Vernon. Please. Please. A sob broke out. Please. P-p-please._

O•O•O

"Potty? Potter? You there?" came Malfoy's voice and Harry had never imagined he'd be so happy to hear that voice. But he needed to face it, Malfoy's company was the only thing that was keeping him from descending into the depths of that nightmare again.

"Malfoy, please, just answer my questions." Harry's voice was quiet this time and maybe that was what urged Malfoy to follow his instructions.

"It's a spell. It allows my mind to travel to another's mind while we are both in the dormant stage. If you don't know what the dormant stage is, it's-" he started to explain.

"I know what the stages of the mind are Malfoy." Harry spoke, his voice neutral for once.

There was a cough. "Well, I found this spell in the family library and it said that I had to fall asleep in a circle of runes and cast the spell on myself beforehand and my mind would be taken to a person of my choosing. So basically, this whole process was more of a ritual."

"Okay," Harry spoke, still confused on one thing, "But why would you want to seek me out? I'm a crazed sociopath out for blood no matter the owner if you haven't heard." Harry didn't care how bitter these words came out to be.

"Because you're innocent."

Harry jerked his head up.

Innocent.

Innocent.

 _Innocent._

The words reverberated in his mind. He felt like crying. Finally, someone to speak those words. He didn't know how long a part of him had been yearning to hear that come from someone else's lips instead of his own thoughts.

"And well no matter what you hear from me, I still have morals…A-hem…Ah…so…here I am." Malfoy said, the silence making both persons uncomfortable.

Hoping to get away from the touchy-feely stuff, Harry redirected their conversation. "Why can't I see you? Can you see me?" He certainly hoped Malfoy couldn't see him in this state. He hadn't thought that his wounds would carry on to his dormant stage but it seemed they had.

"Because well…" there was some mumbling that Harry couldn't make out.

"What?"

"The correct word, Potter, is 'pardon'." Malfoy lectured in his haughty voice.

"Malfoy, just answer the damn question." as Harry's rejoinder.

There was a cough. "Well, I guess I didn't put enough power into the spell."

Harry was amused now. He knew exactly what Malfoy actually meant. Malfoy just didn't have enough magical power to complete the spell. "Really, well I guess that's too bad then. At least you'll know exactly how much to put in if you ever do it again." he remarked off-handedly just to see what Malfoy's reaction would be.

"Whatever Potter." Malfoy gritted out.

Harry, being the nice person that he was, decided to spare Malfoy from the embarrassment he was surely feeling and moved on with the conversation. "Well then, what are you going to do now that you're here?"

Here, Malfoy's tone turned serious. "I'm going to get you out. Before you laugh, I've already enlisted some help. And now before you laugh at me again, I'l be leaving."

"I wasn't going to laugh at you." Harry called out, but there was no response.

Harry sighed. Now with Malfoy gone, the pain was starting to creep up on him and his world grew darker.

O•O•O

Harry opened his eyes to a dark gray and dirty cement ceiling. He was lying on the cold hard ground of his cell, surrounded by four walls, though to be fair one of the walls was made up of bars.

The guards had long left, a while after Harry had fallen unconscious. His world at the moment was full of pain. But Harry was used to it. It hadn't been this bad back with Uncle Vernon, but it was damn close it. Harry had long ago learned how to shove the pain back in a dark corner of his mind, leaving him feeling slightly detached from his body.

Now, he used on his recent dream about Draco Malfoy, although, it not have been a dream at all if what the blond said was true. He also had not forgotten about his encounter with his mother, but he pushed it back. However much he hated to admit it, what Malfoy had said was more important.

 _I'm going to get you out._

Harry couldn't quite erase all the disbelief at Malfoy's words. After all, one couldn't really blame him. His closest friends didn't even _believe_ he was innocent, and now here was Malfoy, his long-time adversary, promising to break him out.

Now that he thought it over, Malfoy's behavior had been completely unwonted towards the end. It was completes un-Malfoy like. Perhaps he should just wait it out. After all, it wasn't like he could really do anything to assist Malfoy while he was in this restricting and magic-restraining cell.

Harry sighed. He hated how useless he was feeling, and the cell made he feel even worse, like he was drowning and suffocating at the same time. Or maybe that was the effect of the dementors, Harry thought as a wave of despair and biting cold washed over him.

He shivered, and his eyes fell shut as the dementors' effect broke into his mind and plunged it into hopelessness and melancholy. A woman screamed as a disfigured man laughed, a high-pitched and cruel laughter.

 _"Step aside girl."_

 _"Please not Harry. Please. Anything but Harry."_

 _"Step aside."_

 _"Take me instead. Please"_

 _"Step aside girl."_

 _"Please no. Not Harry. Please, just take me instead."_

 _Avada Kedavra._

A woman screamed as a disfigured man laughed. A flash of green.

 _"Lily! Take Harry and run."_

A cold, dark laughter.

"Please _not Harry."_

A scream, abruptly cut off. A flash of cruel, red eyes.

 _"Please, take me instead."_

 _Avada Kedavra._ The curse that changed Harry's life twice.

Harry's mind slowly shut down as despair filled every corner that wasn't already occupied with this nightmare.

O•O•O

The boy huddled in a shivering ball, his mind already partially lost to the despair and insanity which claimed many inmates here. It had watched as day after day the men came and assaulted the boy, and it had waited, biding its time until the boy was fully ready.

One year. One year it had already waited, and ten months in which the boy spent in this prison, slowly slipping off the edge of reality. The men who came, they were ones who deserved this treatment that was being daily dished out to the boy.

It had been watching the boy all his life. of course there were other possible candidates that it had also kept an eye on, but there was something about the boy. Something that urged it to pay special attention to him.

It had a feeling, that the boy was close to breaking. Of course, he had come close to breaking times before but this time he was very close, teetering on the edge, closer than he had ever been before.

The people should be scared, it thought. For if something came and pushed the boy off the edge, there would be absolute _Hell_ to pay. And it would be by no one's hand but their own.

The boy whimpered again. Very close now.

This boy had potential. He could save millions, even billions. He could save entire species. He could heal to most obscure wounds, cure the deadliest sicknesses.

A growl escaped from the boy's lips and under his eyelids, his eyes moved erratically. So close, so very close now.

But he could also rain destruction down upon this world. He could wipe out entire species, kill millions with a blink of his eye. He could be the end of the world if he chose to be, and _no one_ would be able to stop him.

With a gasp the boy opened his eyes. It was time now. And everything would be decided on Judgement Day.

O•O•O

Harry was having the strangest dream about Voldemort and some sort of glowing creature. He chalked it up to his insanity. With the combined efforts of the dementors and the guards who came everyday to "rough him up a bit," Harry was being slowly driven insane, and he could feel it.

Whenever he tried to think, actually _think_ , his mind slipped under his control and went back to nothingness. There was no doubt about it. He was going insane.

One year. One year he had held out, and one year every single day he would be tortured in every way possible. The dementors covered the emotional and mental part, and guards covered the physical and sexual part. Harry shuddered thinking about it.

The dust stirred as the approaching footsteps and voices unsettled it. Harry closed his eyes praying to Merlin for strength. He would not be driven insane by these people.

"Hello little boy, how's my favorite traitor doing?" came the frosty sound of the thin man who had made his strange grudge against Harry known that first day. "We've decided to have little… celebration." he spoke again, drawing the last word out.

Harry was confused. They didn't usually speak this long first. Maybe some name-calling while they "roughed him up" but this? No. Curious and more then a little wary, Harry opened his eyes and snarled at the man. Before he get anything else though, the man let forward and slapped his face.

"Now now, little boy, don't be rude. We just wanted to come and celebrate your one year anniversary with us! In fact, we've even invited company!"

The other men laughed and for the first time, Harry noticed the other men standing in the back. They were all looking at him with hungry glints of lust and hate, clear on their faces. Harry shuddered. He had no doubt about what their intentions toward him were.

For the next few hours, Harry's mind and body was abused in every way possible. This was nothing new, of course since they came and 'visited' every bloody day. However, today was his anniversary so they had invited more people not only to stretch out the torture when they got tired, but also to add a new twist.

"Do you see this object?" one of the men asked holding a black object that resembled a two-inch cube with a small bump on one of the faces.

Without pausing for a reply, the man went on explaining. "The Unspeakables gave it to us for testing. They said to give it to the most worthy prisoner, a prisoner that deserved the most 'attention.'"

At this, Harry winced. Now he was certain this object was just another torture device used to break him. He sighed. They had already done that in every way possible. What more could they do?

"Do you know why this object is so special? Why many would rather run away from it in horror while others are drawn to it in reverence to its power? This object can steal a person's magic and make them a squib for the rest of their life."

Harry's eyes widened. Steal his magic? Hadn't Azkaban already done that with the magic-suppression wards?

As if sensing his silent question, the man opened his mouth to explain further, "Every prisoner here still has their magic. They just aren't able to access it even if they know wandless magic. This object doesn't just block you from accessing your magic though. Its effect is much much more beautiful and delicious."

The man had a look of complete awe on his face, and it was all directed at the innocent-looking black object in his hand. "No, this object sucks every last drop of magic from your body. It ultimately rips it from you _forever_." he continued, stressing the last word. "At least, that'a what it's supposed to do. Who knows, it might accidentally kill you."

Horrified, Harry numbly stared at the man. Steal his magic? He would be no more than a muggle! And then what would this place do to him? He would be completely left bare, his magic no longer protecting him(not that it helped much though).

As the man advanced closer, Harry panicked and scrambled to his feet. In the back of his mind, he noted that was the first time in almost eight months that he had stood up. Due to this fact, Harry swayed a bit, and he had to lean on the cold wall to steady himself.

The men laughed.

"Look at him. He's like a drunken fool."

There was a chorus of raucous laughter.

"Looks and smells like some primordial beast."

Another outburst of stifling snorts of hilarity among the men.

Merlin, this gathering must consist of all the guards on Azkaban right now, thought Harry, which means… a perfect chance to attack.

O•O•O

 _Flashback:_

 _Harry was dreaming. How he knew this? Easy. He was standing in front of a mirror examining his newly acquired nose, full dark eyebrows, still thin but red lips, high cheekbones, head full of dark wavy hair, and the most prominent feature that staid the same, the crimson ruby eyes staring back at him from the mirror._

 _The thin lips curled into a dark smirk. "Well done Severus. Very well done indeed. **What do you think Nagini?"**_

 _ **"Your snake form was very enjoyable. But I have to admit, this suits you better than your other appearance Master."**_

 _The man raised his head to study himself in the mirror again._

 _Suddenly, there was a sound of hurried footsteps approaching and a loud knock sounded on the door. The man, who was_ _obviously Lord Voldemort by now, turned after vanishing the mirror. He took a seat on his extravagant chair and called out, "Come in."_

 _The door opened and a tall aristocratic man with long white-blond hair stepped into the room._

 _Lucius bloody Malfoy. He had something to do with framing Harry. Harry could tell from the look in his eyes wild Harry was being dragged away by the law enforcement team. First cautiousness and triumph, then some guilt. Why some bloody Malfoy would ever fell guilt over Harry messed with his brain so he decided not to think about it for now._

 _"My lord." Malfoy said bowing low in front of Voldemort._

 _"Rise Lucius. You have news?"_

 _"Yes my lord, your orders were to keep an ear out for when Azkaban would be at its most vulnerable. I've just come from the Ministry. Some aurors were talking about how they wished they were guarding Azkaban that day. Apparently every single guard is going to be gathered at Potter's cell, teaching him a lesson. They have some new device from the Unspeakables, and they're trying it out on Potter."_

 _Voldemort's eyes widened. "A new device? Surely it can't be the one that Rookwood was talking about. The one that sucks all the magic from a person until they are left as magicless as a Muggle."_

 _"Yes, that is the one. Though, some say that if it is hit with an enhancement charm, it will suck the magic from all of the person's descendants, and it can also become so deadly that it will start to suck the life out of the person too."_

 _Voldemort's eyes gleamed. "This is our opportunity, Lucius. Go to the meeting hall. I will call the rest of the Death Eaters. We attack Azkaban today."_

O•O•O

Shit. Shit _Shit._ Harry remembered his dream from that morning. There was no way he would be escaping this. Unless some magical door appeared that led him away from Azkaban. Harry looked around just in case. Hey, he was a desperate man. But…nope, no door.

"Well, little traitor, how do you want to do this. This device first or our usual…ritual."

"Do the ritual." called out one guard.

"Yeah we want to try him while he's fresh with fight and spirit, not broken with the loss of his magic." called out another guard.

Harry closed his eyes.

The fist connected with the side of his face while a foot crashed into his shin and a hand crept down his chest.

The torture was on.

He went through his head the list of reasons why he was screwed to Hell and back five times over.

Voldemort was coming.

These insane bloodthirsty idiots were going to suck out his magic.

Voldemort was coming and there won't be guards to stop him. Why? Oh right, because they were all here to celebrate his 'anniversary.' Proof why they were idiots. Oh well, it seemed no matter where he was and no matter his status, he would always be at the top of someone's to-do list.

Anyway…

Harry was going to have to face Voldemort half-insane with no magic by the time these wankers were done with him.

To sum it all up, he was so screwed. Lady Luck would not be able to get him out this time.

O•O•O

Far away and close by in another realm, a shadow stirred. A challenge had been stated. A challenge against her ability. If this shadowed had eyes, they would have been narrowed. She did _not_ like her ability being questioned.

With determination pulsing out, the shadow stood to her full height to face the challenge head on. Whatever the challenge was, she would overcome it. Even if the situation was bad enough to be screwed to Hell and back five times over.

O•O•O

 **A/N**

 **Well, what did you think? Was it long enough? Should I stop switching around the scenes so often? How's the plot so far? Am i doing well in conveying their** **personalities?**

 **I'd appreciate it if you all REVIEWED! Thank you for reading!**

 **~Ivystrike**


	4. Rituals and Spirits

"English"

 **"Parseltongue"**

 _Thoughts_

 _"Spells"_

O•O•O

Previously:

Harry was going to have to face Voldemort half-insane with no magic by the time these wankers were done with him.

To sum it all up, he was so screwed. Lady Luck would not be able to get him out this time.…

Far away and close by in another realm, a shadow stirred. A challenge had been stated. A challenge against her ability. If this shadowed had eyes, they would have been narrowed. She did _not_ like her ability being questioned.

With determination pulsing out, the shadow stood to her full height to face the challenge head on. Whatever the challenge was, she would overcome it. Even if the situation was bad enough to be screwed to Hell and back five times over.

O•O•O

The thin man advanced slowly toward Harry, all the while holding the black object in front of him in his black leather gloves. Harry was starting to hate those gloves. They were the first to punch everyday and now they would follow him to his doomsday.

"Are you ready, you little traitor? The fun is just arriving."

Unable to stop the motion, Harry drew back into his little corner and a small whimper escaped him.

The men laughed, preying on his show of weakness that he had let escape.

"Oh, did you see that? Little Potter's scared." The men roared with laughter again, and the sound was like the Devil's call to Harry. These men were insane. They were stupid, insane, bloodthirsty, and large in number.

 _Never_ a good combination.

If it had been in the usual group, Harry might have had enough adrenaline to fight back but with a group this big…

Harry was screwed.

He was screwed to Hell five times over.

And that was his only thought as the black object descended onto his forehead, right above his scar.

Harry didn't even try fighting. He had the first few months but they always got to him and his punishment was all the more painful. So his struggles got weaker and weaker until they disappeared altogether one day. The guards had been pleased, thinking they had won, that they had broken his spirit.

They hadn't then. But maybe this object finally would.

It's funny really. Teenagers are all the same. They think they are invincible, and even Harry had thought so. No matter how many times he had run over the phrase _I'm going to die_ in his mind, there was always a part of his that believed there was no possible way he could die, and no possible way he would break in mind and spirit. But here it was.

 _I's going to die. Actually._

"Hurry up!" called out one of the men, hitting the thin man on the arm.

Fortunately for Harry, that was the same arm holding the black object and it slipped from the thin man's grasp. Unfortunately though, the object seemed to have a mind of its own, so as if attracted by his scar, the object slammed forward, right on top of his scar.

And then Harry screamed. The burning pain it brought. It was incomparable to anything Uncle Vernon and the guards had ever done to him. It was probably even more than what they had ever done combined. And through it all, Harry was amazed that he stayed conscious and sane.

Later, Harry would be told that he had only screamed for a few seconds, but to Harry, it was eons, literally.

 **"We have awoken. Who has awoken us? Who is Master?"** a unanimous voice echoed through his head.

 _What? What's happening? Who are you?_

 **"We are the Diabolos."**

 _The what?!_ Harry snapped.

 **"Humans, they call us the Devil, Satan, Daemons, Fiend, Lucifer-"**

 _You're saying you're the Devil? The Devil himself?_

 **"That is what we are called by some yes."**

 _Shite! Son of a motherfucker! What did I do in a past life? Cheat on Lady Fate? Of course I get a visit from the Devil himself! Of course! Fucking hell! After all, what would my life be without this kind of drama?! Honestly! Why can't I be normal for once! Shit, this is crazy! This is insane. I'm ranting to myself when the fucking_ Devil _is in my_ head!

 **"Calm down childe."** the Devil said.

 _Calm down? Calm down?! You're asking me to calm down?! I'm sorry I know I'm not normal and normal people would be dead from the shock and stress but you're asking me to_ calm down?! _Who the fuck are you to ask me to calm the fuck down? I will not calm down when there's the fucking Devil_ inside my fucking head!

 **"We said _calm down._ Let us explain. You humans, "** the voices that were one voice chuckled as one and separately, **"You are always looking for drama, everywhere you go. And when there is not enough in real life, you come up with an idea. Let's just say that I was born from that idea. And I grew as I was integrated into every religion, every culture, and every lifestyle."**

 _So, are you real? Or are you just an idea?_ Harry wondered.

 **"We are both. As we said, we were born as an idea, and we manifested as a physical spirit as the idea manifested. We are alive in every single being because some part of them, no matter how small, believes in us."**

 _Okay, so you're real. I got that. But are you like… evil? And why do you keep referring to yourself or yourselves as "we"?_

 **"Each of us is an idea from a being. Together, we come to form the Diabolos."**

 _So if everyone just stopped believing in the Devil, you would just… disappear?_

 **"Yes. The ideas the Diabolos is made of will be gone and so, the Diabolos will be gone as well.**

 _Okay well we got that out of the way. Now the real question. What are you doing inside my head?_

 **"We were sucked into some object, made to release at skin-contact. But the creators of that object didn't know what they were doing. They thought we would suck out a being's magic. No, that is not what we do at all."**

 _What do you do then?_ Harry inquired, slightly fearing the answer.

 **"That depends on the person. We can do anything to you. We can kill you. We could kill lock you into our kingdom until the ends of time. We could give you powers unimaginable to man. We could make you immortal. But we are the ones who decide."**

Harry shivered, unsure of what to feel. On one hand they could destroy him, condemn him to Hell. But he had already been destroyed. He was already in some type of Hell.

On the other hand, he could be the most powerful being who could live forever. More powerful than Voldemort and Dumbledore combined. More than the entire Dark force and the Order combined. But that wasn't him.

It's not that Harry didn't have ambition, but he believed that there should be an end to everything. In the end, everything crashes and burns no matter their species, no matter their status, and no matter whether they were light or dark.

 **"Keep in mind though, we can only give you one thing. One boost of magic, one piece of knowledge, one time period in hell. And we choose."**

Harry closed his eyes and took a breath. Was it worth it?

 _Hell yes._

And then Voldemort arrived with an explosion.

The guards scattered, running for their lives at the terrifying sight Voldemort posed.

 _Idiots. What kind of guards were they?_

The black object was still on his forehead and the only thing separating him from death was a group of panicking morons who called themselves guards and who also hated his guts, conveniently for Voldemort. They were more likely to offer him up then protect him.

 _Someone please press a panic button and call in more Aurors. Specifically Moody._

But then Moody was more likely to kill Harry to keep him from escaping with Voldemort then actually fight Voldemort. Harry's heart sped up. The odds were piled high as Mount Everest against him. He would be _very_ lucky man indeed if he survived intact.

"Spread out, break out the loyal ones!" came Voldemort's voice which surprisingly wasn't high-pitched anymore.

Harry sighed, curling up against the wall amidst the chaos and destruction. This wasn't all that different than the dreams of raids he caught from Voldemort's mind. If he closed his eyes, he could even imagine that he wasn't living it in reality. It was just dream.

Just a dream.

And as his mind clouded over, Harry thought he saw a glimpse of wide silver-gray eyes staring at him and a flash of white-blond.

He blinked and it was gone.

To be honest, he had completely forgotten about Malfoy's promise to get him out. That couldn't possibly be Malfoy visiting again right? It was probably from his memories of that ponce. But then again, why would he be thinking of _Malfoy_ at the moment?

Pushing away all his doubts, Harry told himself, _It was just your imagination. That's it._

O•O•O

"I got it! I got the perfect solution! Dobby hand me that scroll."

"Yes Draco sir. Dobby is so excited. Dobby is so grateful. Dobby will be seeing Master Harry Potter soon!" the elf said, jumping all over the place before finally handing Draco the scroll.

Draco rolled his eyes. He had stopped questioning and insisting on why Dobby didn't call _him_ "Master" and instead opted for calling Potter "Master." Dobby's only response had been to widen his eyes and go off in a long rant about exactly why "the great and powerful Master Harry Potter" was so "great and powerful."

Honestly, Draco was more then slightly disgruntled at Dobby's worship of Harry while _he_ was his _rightful_ master. But he was Draco sir and Potter was Master Harry Potter.

He sighed and snapped out of his thoughts when a blur waved itself across his vision, and it took him a while to focus enough on the bur to realized it was Dobby jumping up and down while waving the scroll around.

Draco sighed again. "Honestly Dobby. Just hand me that scroll." he growled at the energetic elf. But Dobby just beard at him and handed over the scroll, all the while bouncing on his toes and the tips of his ears flapping round. Draco just stood there with one eyebrow arched perfectly.

He snatched up the scroll as soon as Dobby's arm had extended. "Now go make yourself busy. Clean something."

"But sir, everything is already clean."

"Well clean it again!" Draco snapped. He did not have time for overexcited and crazy elves. And Dobby's too cheerful mood was rubbing him the wrong way.

"Dobby has already cleaned everything four times. Dobby is excited. Dobby will be seeing the great and powerful Master Harry Potter again! Dobby will stay for now."

Draco stared in disbelief. Had he just overridden an order? "Dobby go clean the west dining room."

"No!" Dobby exclaimed, stamping his foot on the ground. "Dobby will stay!"

"Go Dobby!"

"Dobby is staying!"

"No you're not!"

"Dobby is staying!"

"No you're not!"

"Dobby is staying!"

Draco opened his mouth to refute that for the fourth time but the bright blue light emitting from the scroll interrupted him.

Feeling his heart speed up as his masterpiece started glowing, Draco just couldn't help it. He jumped up and down like a little girl. But after couple seconds he calmed and schooled his features into a blank mask, looking around to make sure no one had seen that.

This was a ritual that he had been working on for the last year, ever since he had talked to Harry in his dreams. His little-

"Sir's babe!" Dobby cried out.

"Dobby! I thought I told you to leave!"

Dobby plastered on an innocent smile. "But the last time Dobby asked to stay, Draco sir never said no."

And this made Draco even more cross because what Dobby said was true. He had been about to say no but was interrupted. "Fine but don't go saying that I call my masterpiece my…babe." he gritted out, "Especially not in front of Harry."

If it were possible, Dobby's smiler would've grown even wider. "Of course Draco sir. Dobby is understanding that Draco is wanting to win Harry as a potential mate."

"Dobby!" was all Draco could exclaim with embarrassment and anger taking over him. Turning away with his cheeks and ear flaming red he calmed himself.

"And don't go talking about that either understood Dobby?"

"Dobby understands that Draco is not wanting his love of his li-"

"Okay! I think we should start working. It's almost time!" Draco announced a little too loudly. If he didn't know better, he'd suspect that Dobby was a little too amused by his embarrassment with the subject.

But indeed it was time. And this was enough to distract Dobby from his little song about Draco and Harry. A song? A fucking song?

"Draco and Master Harry smooching in a tree. Draco leans forward and pleads for a fuc-"

"DOBBY!" Draco shouted, his face as red as Weasley's hair. "EITHER GO AWAY OR SHUT UP!"

And then there was silence. Blessed silence. Still panting from his anger and outburst, Draco turned back to the glowing scroll. "Now then, according to my notes, all I have to do it read this and pass whatever test it gives me before getting the full instructions."

Clearing his throat, Draco stood tall as he faced what would be the most strenuous hour of his life. But it would be worth he told himself.

 _"Vedu hing de kan komma tillsammans_ _pentry o clipa et ubi dicitur et reliquum. Spiritu vocat officium implere ut."_ he recited.

And then he was transported to an endless black tunnel with a single point of light at the end. He snorted. Talk about the light at the end of the tunnel. He supposed he was supposed to start walking towards it, but a Slytherin never enters a situation without assessing it at every angle.

 _"Lumos."_ he whispered into the dark. Nothing. His wand which he grasped in his hand didn't light up. Incredulous he looked down, though it ws no use as he couldn't even see one inch in front of him.

His wand didn't work. His wand wasn't fucking working! Shit shit shit! Merlin's fucking boxers!

"HUMAN. WHY DO YOU COME HERE."

Shaking slightly from his minor panic attack, Draco turned around to face some sort of…thing. It wasn't human or even a beast. Heck, it didn't even have a solid shape. It just…was. "I come to save my friend who was wrongfully imprisoned."

"AND HOW DO YOU KNOW YOU ARE RIGHT WHILE MILLIONS OF OTHERS ARE AGAINST YOU?"

Standing up to his full height in hopes that that would help his case, Draco replied, "Because I have inside information on how he was framed." And then his world exploded in pain.

He watched the scenes inside his mind as if he were viewing a memory.

O•O•O

 _Memory:_

 _Ah Lucius my faithful servant. I see you have brought young Draco." said the figure sitting atop a throne in what had before been the biggest Malfoy dining room._

 _His father bowed low, his perfect getting mussed slightly in the dirt. Draco managed to hide the look of disdain from showing on his face and surface thought. Malfoys are the best. They bow to no one, echoed his father's words. And yet, here they were._

 _"Yes my lord. I have done what you asked."_

 _"Very well. The reason I have called both you and your son here is that I have a task for both of you. It is essential so make sure you do not fail me." Draco didn't even have to look up to shiver in fear of the foreboding words._

 _"Lucius you will secure the position of the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor at Hogwarts and then you and Draco will work on a task to bring Potter down. Since he seems to slip away from me overtime I have him, I will defeat him in a different way. He will be framed for some murders, and you will make sure everyone and I mean_ everyone _believes he did it."_

 _At this, Draco's heart constricted painfully in his chest. Would he be able to do it? Put an innocent boy in Azkaban? Put Harry in Azkaban?_

 _"But my lord, the mudblood and Weasley stick to him through thick and thin. It_ _will be impossible to make them and Dumbledore and his associates believe anything bad of the Golden Boy."_

 _The Dark Lord chuckled. "Oh, that will be the easiest part Lucius. You see, Dumbledore, and Potter's friends are just playing Potter. Dumbledore has been paying them to spy on Potter and ensuring he insecure more than average and keeping him oblivious to almost every aspect of the wizarding world."_

 _"But my lord, if you don't mind me asking, why would Dumbledore do that?" he father wondered aloud cautiously._

 _"I have recently discovered these facts that have caused me to reconsider fighting Potter and trying to convert him to our side. But he is already too far gone in the light. And his parents deaths will always hold him back. What I have discovered is that his home was not an ideal one of a golden boy. No, it is far from it. The very opposite is you know what I mean." the red eyes gleamed dangerously as the Dark Lord spoke._

 _And Draco could barely contain his small intake of breath. Oh Harry…_

 _"Dumbledore has been conducting an…experiment involving one of the most famous muggle topics: nature vs nurture. But in doing so, he realized that he might lose his Golden Boy to the dark. So he created this whole hoax with Potter's friends and everything to keep the boy under his control."_

 _"Dear Merlin. It would be better to just put the boy in Azkaban and be done with it! This-this is outrageous, even for a man like Dumbledore. This is the reason why we fight." he father spat out and Draco had never get more proud of his cause._

 _"I know. It would be mercy to put the boy in Azkaban. So that is what we will do."_

 _Draco bowed his head. This, this was mercy. What kind of life was that? Where you could lead a better life in_ Azkaban?

End of Memory

O•O•O

The pain subsided as Draco was pulled out of the memory.

"HUMAN, YOU SPEAK THE TRUTH AND YOU HAVE GOOD INTENTIONS. HOWEVER, AS YOU HAVE NOTED, THIS BOY LEADS A BETTER LIFE INSIDE THIS PRISON. AWAY FROM THE CRUELTIES OF THE WORLD."

Draco nodded. If he had been some foolish Gryffindor like Harry, he probably would've made me sort of sarcastic remark at the beginning about the pain the the spirit stating the obvious. But if he was some foolish Gryffindor, he gotten killed long before.

"That is why he will have the chance to live a new life. One away from all the betrayals and backstabbers. He deserves this opportunity. He doesn't deserve that prison. If anyone should deserve a second chance it's Harry."

There was a long stretch of silence as the spirit pondered his words.

"Please. Please let him have this chance. Please let him know what it feels like to live."

"VERY WELL HUMAN. THE SPIRITS SEEM TO HAVE A WEAK SPOT FOR THIS BOY. I WILL ALLOW YOU TO DO YOUR WORK. WHEN THE TIME COMES, JUST WISH FOR HOME."

And Draco was transported away from the darkness.

O•O•O

He arrived in Harry's mind just in time to see Voldemort crash into the corridor. _Fuck_. Harry's fear and surprise mingled with his own.

 _Harry? Can you hear me?_

 _Yes I can. What are you doing hear? How did you get in my head._

As these words came from Harry's mouth or mind as he should call it now, Draco had a flashback of their first conversation in Harry's mind.

 _Remember Harry. Common_ _etique-_

 _I don't fucking care about etiquette! In case you haven't noticed yet, Voldemort is absolutely decimating the guards!_

Was it just Draco or did Harry's words ended in a but of a sneer? Can one ever sneer during "mind-speak?" But anyway, Harry was right. Back on track, he needed to focus on getting them both out of here.

What had the spirit said? Think of home? What kind of bullshit is that? He wasn't Dorothy. He couldn't just click his heels and go back to Kansas. That's right. He had been reading Muggle literature. He had had to since he had exhausted every single book on magic. And then he had seen some book that turned out to be very promising. It wasn't until he got to the melting witch part that he realized it was a Muggle book.

But that had started him on Muggle books and he had finally found his answer in one very old book. As it turned out, Muggles used to have magic and they were the result of squibs. That's a hell lot of squibs he thought.

 _Malfoy are you listening?_

 _What?_ Draco asked coming back down to reality.

 _We need to get out of here._

 _I don't know how!_

 _You mean you came here without even getting instructions on how to get back?! You fucking idiot!_

 _Well all the spirit said was the think of home! What the hell is that supposed to mean?_

 _Malfoy, you utter idiot. You wanker. How are you this thick! Have you maybe tried I don't know, THINKING OF HOME?!_

 _Ouch, no need to shout._ Draco thought at Harry as the words reverberated inside his head.

 _DO IT MALFOY. DO IT NOW._

 _Alright, alright._

And he thought of home. Of Malfoy Manor. Of the corners he had hid in during his childhood in order to play spy on his parents. Of course he had always been found out. A fact that to this day he was always ashamed of. He thought of-

"Avada Kedavra." Voldemort shouted as he killed the last of the guards. Draco watched in horror as the most powerful lord of all advanced toward Harry. If Harry died, Draco would be transported back to the Manor, nice and safe. But he had to get Harry out of here. He lo-

Draco erased that thought before it could finish. Come one Draco Malfoy he thought. Think of home. And he did just as Voldemort pointed the wand at Harry and shouted the spell.

" _Spori."_

And then Harry's mind was surged with power, giving Draco a boost which knocked them back all the way to Malfoy Manor.

"What happened?" Harry asked from his position on the floor. "The guards, they said the object would kill me and I got from Voldemort's thoughts that the spell he cast should've strengthened the object and killed me. I should be dead."

Draco stared. "Why aren't you dead?"

"The object. It's not what they thought it was. They Diabolos I think that's what they're called. They said they could only give me one gift, but Voldemort's spell must've caused them to give more gifts to me which why I feel so powerful and regenerated. But they said that they could give me an eternity of torture. Why isn't _that_ happening?"

"Maybe the spell only enhanced the good powers? After all, the enhancement charm _is_ a light spell." Draco deducted.

And then what had occurred and what that meant entered both their minds.

"You have got to the luckiest man that ever existed Potter." Draco breathed, staring at Harry in awe as Harry just leaned back panting, thanking the gods over and over again that he had survived again.

And somewhere far far away where the shadows dominated, Lady Luck smiled.

Mission accomplished.

O•O•O

 **Spori = "enhance" in Romanian.**

 **So? What did you think? Were the characters realistic enough? Did I rush through everything too fast? Any input is welcome. Please review!**

 **~ Ivystrike**


	5. Truths and Lies

"English"

 **"Parseltongue"**

 _Thoughts_

 _"Spells"_

O•O•O

"Now then, what just happened?" Harry asked, swaying a bit.

"I just rescued you Potter. Aren't you going to thank me? It's-"

"-common etiquette I know." Harry snapped. "And you know that's not what I meant. What the fuck just happened. And before you become my mother and criticize by language, think about what happened. I am entitled to swear however much I want."

Draco fixed him with a stern stare. "No one is _entitled_ to swear Potter. If they were then the world would be full of people like the Weasel."

"Oi! What's that supposed the mean?" Harry instinctively jumped to the defense of Ron from Malfoy.

Malfoy turned his face away. "Right, of course Weasley would be more precious to you than me even after he betrayed you in such a way."

Harry's face softened. "You know that's not what I meant. I-"

"Whatever. Just forget it Potter." Malfoy said scowling as he shuffled slightly away from Harry.

"Malfoy. You _know_ I wouldn't defend Ron like that anymore. Trust me, you are worth much much more to me than he is. It was just habit to defend him from you, especially since you called him that name whenever you came over to stir up trouble between us all the time. I'm sorry but it definitely will not happen again. I won't let it." Harry said, attempting to smooth over the situation he had accidentally started up, all the while cursing his slip up.

And the sight of Draco Malfoy still casting his eyes down at the floor instead of looking at him just made Harry feel worse. He contemplated reaching forward to comfort Malfoy but thought better of it. He didn't think Malfoy would take kindly to being touched much less comforted by _Harry Potter._ But still, he couldn't stand just standing watching Malfoy struggle through whatever pain he was suffering from. Before he could make a decision however, there was a _pop._

"Master Harry Potter!" something cried right before he was assaulted by a small creature. His brain took a moment to comprehend what was happening, and by then the air in his lungs was already being squeezed out of him.

"Dobby?" he asked. It was redundant though since the only elf that excited and that hyper could only be Dobby.

Instantly, the elf's eyes filled with tears. "The Great and Powerful Master Harry Potter remembers Dobby?"

Harry's heart filled with warmth and embarrassment for the elf. Even if Dobby had been a little too hyper and protective sometimes, he had missed the elf. "Of course Dobby. I'm very glad to see you again." he said, embracing the elf in a much less tight hug.

"The Great and Powerful Master Harry Potter is happy to see Dobby?" Dobby cried again, now sobbing into Harry's already stained and filthy shirt. "Master Harry Potter is too great and powerful. Dobby is so very happy to have him deal with the snobbish Draco sir now."

"Oi!" Malfoy snapped, his face a cross between annoyed and embarrassed.

Harry smirked in his direction. "Oh, what has the bad wizard done to you? Did he make you listen to his terrible singing in the shower? Or perhaps he forced you to hold his mirror in front of him everyday?"

Dobby grinned, catching on to what Harry was doing. "Oh, no, Dobby is wishing it was that simple. No, Draco sir made Dobby," he cringed slightly before leaning forward and saying in a stage-whisper, "He made Dobby come whenever he was feeling sad and conjure holograms of-"

"Alright, that's enough." Draco cut in, his face for once flaming red in embarrassment.

Amused, Harry turned to Draco with a challenging stare and one eyebrow raised. "Holograms of who? Pansy?"

Draco's red face immediately lost all blood, making him become pale in seconds. He closed his eyes, an expression of horror written in every line and curve of his face. "Oh Merlin, Potter. You just had to put that image in my mind didn't you. You know what she did to me last year? She had me restrained against a corner and I only _just_ managed to escape. _Just_. If I hadn't," he shuddered, "who knows how scarred I would be right now."

Harry laughed despite his sudden exhaustion. He sat down as bright white dots filed his vision. "Ugh. Do you have a headache potion? Or some pain reliever?" he asked.

Immediately, Malfoy hurried to his side. "I'm sorry. I totally forgot everything you've been through. Here, lie down on the couch." he said as he gently helped Harry up onto the couch.

Confused, Harry turned to him. "You're being awfully nice. Why the change in behavior?"

Draco blushed, causing Harry's jaw to drop. Had Malfoy, the Ice King of Slytherin just _blushed_? Merlin, what was happening today? First this whole thing with Voldemort and the Devil and then Malfoy blushing?

"Stop looking at me like that," Malfoy muttered, "you should get some rest. You look like you need it. And don't question my sudden burst of Gryffindor behavior. Merlin knows why I'm helping you like this."

"Yeah," Harry simply stated, too tired to continue teasing Malfoy. A sudden wave of exhaustion knocked him out completely, and he succumbed to his restless sleep.

O•O•O

When Harry woke up, he had no idea where he was at first. The soft surface underneath him told him he was not where he'd been for the past year, which jerked him out of his half-asleep stupor. With a gasp, he sat up on the couch to look directly into the silver eyes of Draco Malfoy. Then, the dam broke and the flood of memories from the day before came to him. Closing his eyes, he fell back onto the couch and stayed like that until Malfoy rudely pushed him off the couch.

With a grumble, Harry rolled over onto his back and opened one eye to glare at Malfoy's blurry from. "What the hell was that for?"

"Well I wasn't going to let you go back to sleep when you finally woke up after three days of sleeping."

"THREE DAYS!" Harry yelled, sitting up again. "I've been asleep for three _days?_ Why didn't you wake me?"

"Because you needed the rest. At least now you don't look like some poor fugitive. I cleaned you up a bit and changed your clothes."

Harry looked down, noticing he wore a pair of silk pajamas that were two inches too big for him. Damn those Dursleys for keeping him malnourished and neglecting him all the time. Suddenly, a thought occurred to him. "Wait a minute…how did you change my clothes? Did you actually get your hands dirty by undressing me yourself? Did you sneak a peek!?"

With angry eyes, Malfoy glared at him. "No I didn't do it the Muggle way! I used magic you idiot! I'm not some incompetent fool who forgets that he has magic!"

"Riiiiight," Harry smirked, drawing out the word. "Then why are you blushing so, my dear ferret?"

If possible, Malfoy's glare hardened even more until Harry started to suspect that he'd been taking lessons from Snape, which wouldn't be all that unreasonable since those two were almost as close as Harry and Sirius.

The thought of Sirius brought a pang of despair as Harry was reminded of Sirius's betrayal and the fact that maybe, just maybe the betrayal ran further and deeper than he had originally thought. _No, Sirius may had failed him at his most dire moments, but he wouldn't fully and completely turn against Harry like that without any reason…would he?_ Torn between whether Harry should just keep defending his godfather who had been Harry's adult companion who Harry would talk to anything about, or if he should just say fuck it and condemn Sirius along with Dumbledore and Fudge.

"Just shut up." Malfoy mumbled petulantly, bringing Harry back to the present.

Smirking, Harry sighed dramatically. His mood vanished with the subject he had been thinking about, which was still at the forefront of his mind. "We need to talk." he stated in a serious voice.

Malfoy sighed, not meeting Harry's eyes. "Alright, but before you spew off a bunch of questions, let me confess something first."

Harry narrowed his eyes but stayed silent, wondering what Malfoy needed to say.

Taking his silence as an agreement to continue, Malfoy opened his mouth and poured out the story of the Dark Lord's plot to frame Harry. Harry sat stock still as he listened to the surprising mercy Voldemort had been willing to show him at first and the possibility of a truce between them, and then of the Dark Lord abandoning that idea and back his original plan of killing Harry off. But instead of going directly into a fight with Harry, he had gone back to his sly and cunning ways to frame Harry and make Dumbledore do all the work.

"He was a Slytherin you know. I suppose it was obvious he would resort to an underhanded technique instead of meeting you head-on as he had done before he regained his sanity."

Were it any other situation, Harry would've snorted and made some remark on the "sanity" part, but the morbid ambiance kept his mouth shut as he wholeheartedly listened to Draco's tale.

"My father was planted into Hogwarts the easiest and simplest way possible. To this day, I still have no idea how in the world Dumbledore actually accepted him as the Defense teacher, but it was either my father or some toad-like woman from the Ministry who was known for Fudge's cock to get into his favor and getting away with a bunch of illegal businesses which are way more scandalous and dangerous than whatever my father does as a Death Eater."

At this, Harry couldn't keep his mouth shut. "What? Some Ministry person more dangerous than a Death Eater? Please what's the worst thing she could possibly do? Spy on all of us in the Quidditch changing rooms and leak it to the press?"

Malfoy glared at him. "Please Potter, not everyone lusts after you and your body. And no, this woman was particularly known for abusing the use of blood quills."

At Harry's blank look Malfoy elaborated. "It's a quill that uses the users own blood to write. It's usually only used with Goblins when a lord is signing something but otherwise it's illegal and highly monitored."

"Really? If it's illegal than why isn't known more that the woman enjoys using illegal objects and abusing their rights? Shouldn't she have been arrested as soon as her practices were discovered?"

Malfoy rolled his eyes, making Harry feel stupid as if he had asked him why the sky was blue. "Potter, you know how corrupt the Ministry is. She and Fudge covered it all up, but if one knows where to look then..." he trailed off into a smirk.

"My father used this piece of information to convince of the board of governors to choose him over that foul woman. It seems that even rumors of her practices are enough for the parents of the children, who all want the best for their children. Even the lighter members of the board thought my father to be the lesser of the two evils. And besides, that woman barely passed her OWLs and NEWTs for Defense Against the Dark Arts."

"But why? I mean blood quills seem kind of harmless compared to all the killing and torturing that..." _your father is responsible for._

As if sensing the unspoken thoughts Malfoy narrowed his eyes in a warning glare but otherwise did nothing to defend his father, which caused Harry's eyebrows to shoot up in shock. Malfoy, the same Malfoy who had included his father into every other sentence he had ever spoken had just let an insult to the same father remain undefended. No come-back. No rant. Nothing.

"But still, why would Dumbledore even consider hiring Lucius Malfoy of all people. And why did Voldemort even think sending Lucius Malfoy of all people into the castle undisguised. Did he really think your father stood a chance at all?"

"Well with evidence against Umbridge, the Ministry woman, my father was the only candidate really and the Board of Governors were on my father's side and it was already so close to the beginning of the school year. Dumbledore had no choice really." Draco ended with a small smirk.

"So it was because of your father and Voldemort that my friends betrayed me and I suffered through Azkaban for a year?" Harry crossed his arms with a glare.

"Well," Malfoy began looking anywhere but at Harry, "don't take your anger out on me when you hear this but… Dumbledore had your friends spy on you. Everyone and everything had been a plot conducted by Dumbledore. The Weasleys, Granger, Lupin, all those Defense teachers, Hagrid, and… Black."

Harry's eyes grew wider and wider with each word Malfoy spoke, but at the last one his vision went red and a feeling of betrayal surged through him. "WHAT?! Sirius? Ron? Hermione? Everyone? They were just acting the whole time? I TRUSTED THEM! THEY WERE MY FAMILY, MY FRIENDS! THEY WERE THE FIRST PEOPLE WHO CARED ABOUT ME. HELL HAGRID WAS MY FIRST FRIEND BUT THE WHOLE TIME THEY WERE JUST HUMORING ME?! JUST PLAYING ME?! I HATE THEM! HOW COULD THEY DO THIS?! I…but…" he broke down into sobs.

"Potter, if it makes you feel better, not all of them knew they were spying on you or trying to control your life. For Black, Dumbledore just played on his lingering sense of loyalty and friendship to your father, and same for Lupin. And Hagrid is just plain stup- gullible and always hanging off of Dumbledore's word." Draco spoke softly as if trying to calm a wild animal.

"But still, my whole life, Malfoy. My whole life has been controlled by him. I bet even the Dursleys and their abuse…" Harry trailed off as Malfoy's grim face confirmed his suspicions. "MY WHOLE LIFE! MY WHOLE FUCKING LIFE. I COULD'VE BEEN NORMAL. I COULD'VE HAD A HAPPY LIFE! BUT THAT SENILE OLD GOAT DECIDED I WAS BETTER OFF AS HIS SLAVE, BECAUSE THAT'S ALL I FUCKING WAS! A FUCKING SLAVE!" he finished breathing hard.

He couldn't believe it. His whole childhood. His whole entire _life._ It was all just some farce constructed by some manipulative bastard who didn't give a fuck for anyone else besides himself. He had probably allowed Lucius Malfoy into the school just so Harry could be tormented more.

After all, Harry was a weapon, nothing more than a slave to do the dirty work of the war. And slaves had to be kept in their place, had to be controlled, had to be whipped into submission, literally. They had to be guarded at all times, had to be kept oblivious, had to kept _weak_.

Because Merlin forbid Harry actually make decisions for himself, take control of his own life, live his life the way he wanted. Merlin forbid he be allowed to even _want_ something and form connections and bonds of his own besides the ones Dumbledore dictated.

"That's why the Dark Lord decided to frame you. He was going to try to convert you and persuade you to the Dark side, but then he found out how deep in Dumbledore's clutches you were." Malfoy murmured after giving Harry some time to think and calm down, not that Harry was even close to calming down.

"Why the fuck didn't he just tell me of… everything. Then I would have definitely left the Light without a backward glance." Harry snarled out. He could've been saved a whole fucking year in Azkaban had Voldemort just told him of his friends' betrayals. Those fucking traitors.

Draco gave him a deadpan look and raised an elegant eyebrow. "Would you have believed him? The Dark Lord, weakened and with a huge loss of followers coming up to you with a story of how your closest family and friends were just faking everything and that's why you should join your parent's murderer? Would you have jumped on the chance to immediately join him?"

"I guess not," Harry muttered before snapping his head up. "In fact, why should I believe you now? Maybe you're just making this all up to convert me to the Dark side."

Malfoy rolled his gray eyes. "For Merlin's sake Potter, I did not spend one who year devoting all my time to getting you out of that Merlin-forsaken island just as part of the Dark Lord's plot to try to cajole into joining him."

Harry narrowed his eyes and tilted up his chin. "And why should I believe that Malfoy?"

"Because! I… Oh for Merlin's sake I don't have time for this." He crossed the room and dug out a jar from one of the numerous chests in the room. In it was some silvery substance.

Harry immediately took a step back. "Are you planning on poisoning me?" He wouldn't put it past Malfoy to do such a thing. And even though all the logic in the world was screaming at him for such a dumb and paranoid conclusion, Harry remained in his defensive stance as Malfoy turned towards him.

"Potter really, if you knew anything at all, you would recognize this as a memory. Now all we need is a pensieve, and as much as I hate doing this, I have to call that fucking elf. Dobby!"

 _Crack._ The elf appeared with his familiar tennis ball eyes. Upon appearance, the elf promptly turned to Harry and asked in his worshipful and squeaky voice, "Master Harry Potter! Is you needing anything Master?"

Malfoy clenched his jaw as the elf ignored him, the _rightful_ head of the room at the moment, the one who had called upon the elf in the first place. Following Dobby's lead and ignoring Malfoy, Harry smiled at the elf and grinned. "Yes Dobby, could you get us a pensieve please?"

Dobby's eyes filled up with tears at being addressed so politely by Harry. "Of course! The great and powerful Master Harry Potter is getting the best pensieve Dobby can find. Dobby is not be failing at this great and precious task Master Harry Potter is be setting for him!"

And with that, the elf screwed up his eyes and snapped his fingers. A gorgeous pensieve, as big as the dining table it was sitting on, and with amazingly detailed designed sculpted into it with shining gems, which probably cost more than Harry arm, appeared before the two teens. "Thank you Dobby! This is great!"

Again the elf's huge eyes filled up with tears as large tennis ball sized drop fell onto his dirty rag. "Master Harry Potter is too great and powerful. Dobby is be excusing himself to go cry!"

Harry turned his wide eyes to Malfoy after the hysterical elf disappeared. "Are all elves like that?"

Malfoy snorted. "Of course not. Dobby's just as senile as Dumbledore."

Harry shot him with his best imitation of a Snape glare. "Never compare Dobby to Dumbledore," he defended vehemently. Dobby was a friend, and it was turning out that Dobby was his only friend who had true intentions and had stuck by him at all times. "Dobby is _nothing_ like those traitorous bastards, least of all that manipulative goat! Never say _anything_ like that again! Do you understand Malfoy?"

Dumbfounded, Malfoy only gave a small nod, but that was enough to satisfy Harry.

"Now, I believe you were about to show me something?" Harry reminded Draco, pointedly looking at the pensieve.

Malfoy pulled himself up as he took a breath before speaking. "Dumbledore is not the man you think you know. He's not the leader the light believes they are following. He never had good intentions when it came to you. He-"

Here, Harry cut him off. "I already realized all this when that bastard threw me into Azkaban." He arched an eyebrow at Draco.

"Right, but I, unlike you, have proof of his deeds."

"And you don't think I do? He threw an innocent boy into Azkaban for Merlin's sake!"

"But the authorities aren't going to take that as any sort of crime are they? To them, Dumbledore did everybody a favor and emerged as an even bigger hero because of this so-called crime."

"Yes but if we prove that I'm innocent-" Harry started.

"Dumbledore will just immediately back you again and tell the public some sob story about how he believed in you all along but he was just acting for the greater good." Draco finished, breathing heavily and staring into Harry's eyes, imploring him to listen. "And besides, everyone is out for your blood. The moment you step out of the safe doors of the Manor, the dementors will be on to you before you can even say 'innocent'."

"But…" Harry started, then sighed. "Why is the public always so fickle? Merlin, they're worse than a pregnant woman with raging hormones and mood swings." he pinched the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger.

Malfoy snorted. "And to think I used to be jealous of the attention and fame you got."

Harry glared. "Shut it Malfoy. Are we going to view these memories or not," he snapped, suddenly feeling very cross and moody. Whether it was the prospect of finding out that what Malfoy had told him earlier was true or not…

Harry closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He could do this. It was time to find out the truth once and for all, but if it _was_ true and his friends _were_ spying on him, and Hermione and Ron…and Sirius… Gods he hoped and prayed to all the entities there were up there. _Please. Please don't let this be true. Please don't rip my friends and family from me._ But Harry knew subconsciously that it was useless. If Malfoy had solid concrete evidence, and Harry believed he did since he was sitting there with the vials of memories in his hands, then… Merlin his whole life would be a lie.

Shaking himself from his thoughts and feelings, Harry took a deep breath and prepared himself, still slightly in denial. He stood up and approached the pensieve in slow steps, feeling that with each step, he was walking toward his doom.

When he reached the pensieve, he looked into it and saw the swirling silver in the otherwise clear liquid. Feeling another presence join him at the edge of the pensieve, he turned.

"Ready?" Malfoy asked him.

And even though Harry knew that he would never be ready for this, and even though there was still a part of his mind that was telling him to run from the Manor and forget about everything Malfoy told him, Harry squashed down all these doubts and thought about the betrayal he had faced at the hands of his friends. Yes. He could do this. He _had_ to find the truth for himself.

Looking up and meeting the hesitant silver eyes with what he hoped were confident ones of his own, Harry nodded. "Let's do this."

* * *

I know this story is slow-going and I appreciate everyone who keeps reading and follows or reviews. I'd like to ask your opinion on _whether you want Harry to actually join Voldemort and work together with him as a second lord and master to the Death Eaters or if he should just wander off on his own Dark path, not completely on either side._ And yes, this will be a Dark Harry story for those of you who still haven't caught onto that yet. I would appreciate it A LOT if you all REVIEW and offer your opinion. Thank you for reading and please review!

~Ivystrike


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